[UselessInf0]

Message to and reply from eBay seller from Japan regarding a potential return. Pondering... should I wait for a potential fix or just return it is the question of the day...

Greetings!

Thank you very much for shipping and getting the Sony NW-A306 delivered so promptly after the sale.

Unfortunately there is a sound fidelity issue with this unit. It's evident from the moment I started listening to music. This caused me to do a search and find if other users were having similar issues. I found a forum at head-fi titled New Sony Walkman NW-A300 Series Android 12. I would post the web link in here but I'm not sure if eBay would block it.

It seems I'm not the only one having this issue. Members of the forum have performed the same test with almost exact test results The issue is on the low end of the sound spectrum from 20hz-600hz where there is a 10db drop in bass frequency. I performed a sweep test and unfortunately the unit I received has this issue.

I have a graph documenting the sweep test and have attached it to this message. If you look at the very beginning of the graph you can see the 10db drop below 0 which indicates a fidelity issue and corrects @600hz.

I'm torn about returning it to you for a refund and or waiting to see if Sony has a software fix. At this point it's unclear if it's a hardware issue or a software issue.

I thought I would bring this to your attention.

Best,



eBay Seller Reply:

Thank you for your purchase at our store.
We appreciate you taking the time to notify us.
If there are any issues with the product, please contact SONY directly or return the item to us.
We will provide a refund if the item is returned in the same condition as when it was sold.
Thank you again for your purchase, and we appreciate your business.
Sincerely yours,

 

[AtomicUK]

Does anyone know if you can adjust the L-R balance?

As my hearing is not so good on one side, I normally tweak the balance to recenter the sound as I hear it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rga02]

Picked up the A300 in Sapporo a few days ago. If anything, it is already 100000000x better than the A105, just for battery life alone. It will be primarily used as my commuter DAP, replacing my A55 and A105.

 

[abitdeef]

Does anyone know if you can adjust the L-R balance?

As my hearing is not so good on one side, I normally tweak the balance to recenter the sound as I hear it.

Thanks in advance.

Couldn't find it in the accessibility menu, audio settings aren't there, shame on you Sony. The only thing I can tell you is try a music app that has balance controls. The walkman app doesn't AFAIK. Neutron does. Normally it should be in the accessibility menu.

 

[abitdeef]

Picked up the A300 in Sapporo a few days ago. If anything, it is already 100000000x better than the A105, just for battery life alone. It will be primarily used as my commuter DAP, replacing my A55 and A105.

Yep it's a nice little unit. The blue case looks good with the black unit.

 

[halolegend226]

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[pinkbecca]

is this current bass issue affecting Bluetooth streaming as well?

 

[AtomicUK]

Couldn't find it in the accessibility menu, audio settings aren't there, shame on you Sony. The only thing I can tell you is try a music app that has balance controls. The walkman app doesn't AFAIK. Neutron does. Normally it should be in the accessibility menu.

Thank you, I'm not going mad then as I couldn't find an option.

Shame, external App it is then.

 

[psikey]

Thank you, I'm not going mad then as I couldn't find an option.

Shame, external App it is then.

Think UAPP app has balance control and will still play your files Bit-perfect

 

[goody]

Picked up the A300 in Sapporo a few days ago. If anything, it is already 100000000x better than the A105, just for battery life alone. It will be primarily used as my commuter DAP, replacing my A55 and A105.

Great stuff did you compare your A55 with it although i am sure there is no contest i find the A55 not as good as my ZX300 it lacked detail in the sound

 

[goody]

is this current bass issue affecting Bluetooth streaming as well?

I don't think it is as your Bluetooth device will have its own DAC to process the stream

 

[psikey]

So streaming apps on the A306 are still using the blue (resampled) auto path. I can get UAPP to work using the red path (bitperfect) with high-res driver flags "Direct" and "32-bit", but I did not test extensively. I have already processed an RMA due to the volume cap, so it will be going back in a couple of days. Let me know if I can test anything else before I drop it off.

Did your settings in UAPP and indicates playing bit-perfect and sounds like it is but not done the logcat test thing.

UAPP is much more useable speed wise than on the WM1AM2 and no audio glitches either, even with MQA.

Also need to ensure bitperfect set in options.

DSD don't work properly though in UAPP, shows as 176.4kHz.

 

[psikey]

rlw6534

Think I spoke to Davvy of UAPP when I tried with my 1AM2 and said DSD wouldn't work.

Walkman Music app still best for all your own files IMO, but UAPP OK for Tidal MQA streaming. Far longer battery life too using Walkman Music app.

 

[rlw6534]

Did your settings in UAPP and indicates playing bit-perfect and sounds like it is but not done the logcat test thing.

UAPP is much more useable speed wise than on the WM1AM2 and no audio glitches either, even with MQA.

Also need to ensure bitperfect set in options.

I did verify red audio path with logcat (ADB) and a few different sample rates. Seems to be working OK for me as well.

 

[psikey]

I did verify red audio path with logcat (ADB) and a few different sample rates. Seems to be working OK for me as well.

But not DSD? Sounds noticeably inferior with DSD too compared to true DSD handling in Walkman app.

Also, needs about 10 points higher volume compared to Walkman app.